CW50 2nd Edition (aka WWIII) - No 16 - 20

Starting 1 point clear of Dennis Lullee

Number 20 Wasim Akram

Highest Ranking 3
Total Points 314
Number of Votes Received 38/57
Rank in 1st Edition 23

A dream cricketer. At his best Wasim Akram plays like most of us would wish to. He had complete mastery over swing and seam, and sometimes moved the ball both ways in one delivery. All this came at high speed from a quick, ball-concealing action, and was backed up by the threat of a dangerous bouncer or deceptive slower delivery. Akram is rated by many as the best left-arm fast bowler of all time, and his career record certainly bears that out - along with the high regard of his contemporaries. He hit like a kicking horse, but batsmanship was one skill in which Akram underachieved, despite a monumental 257 against Zimbabwe in Sheikhupura in 1996-97. He was the natural successor to Imran Khan as Pakistan's leader and captain, but the match-fixing controversies of the 1990s harmed him, blunting his edge and dimming his lustre. Though he reached the 500-wicket landmark in ODIs in the 2003 World Cup, he was among the eight players dumped after Pakistan's miserable performance. He retired shortly after, following a brief spell with Hampshire.

Number 19 Walter Hammond

Highest Ranking 5
Total Points 341
Number of Votes Received 27/57
Rank in 1st Edition 17

Wally Hammond was a most exciting cricketer, perhaps the more so for the hint of an almost Olympian aloofness. He was also - and the two do not always go together - a naturally-gifted athlete who could excel at any game he cared to play; today he would be brought up as a rising football star. He had that physical stamp; he moved easily, with an ease which yet promised that, at need, he could launch himself into a tiger leap. Even as late as 1951, when he made his last first-class appearance and after he had put on a considerable amount of weight, his movement was poised, assured, and graceful.

Number 18 Curtly Ambrose

Highest Ranking 2
Total Points 356
Number of Votes Received 35/57
Rank in 1st Edition 19

Fee fi fo fum. A giant of the game in every sense, Curtly Ambrose was the most lethal pace bowler of his generation. Like his predecessor Andy Roberts, Ambrose didn't say much, refusing countless interview requests with the motto "Curtly talk to no man". Yet his silence seemed only to magnify his achievements - and his menace. Among Ambrose's 405 Test wickets at 20.99, two spells stand out: the 6 for 24 that hustled England out for 46 in Trinidad in 1993-94, and his series-clinching burst of 7 for 1 against Australia at the WACA the previous season. Perth's springboard of a pitch was ideal for a man who stood 6ft 7ins and released the ball from almost 10ft high, but there was more to Ambrose's game than bounce. When his extreme pace deserted him, he fell back on subtle seam movement and an immaculately grooved action. English batsmen saw a great deal of Ambrose's hand-jiving wicket celebration, which set his white wristbands flashing like doves taking to the sky.

Number 17 Keith Miller

Highest Ranking 4
Total Points 437
Number of Votes Received 35/57
Rank in 1st Edition 14

Keith Miller enlivened the post-war years with his brilliant all-round play, able to turn a match with an attacking innings or a fiery spell of bowling. He is probably best remembered for his new-ball partnership with Ray Lindwall, but it was as a classical batsman that he first made his mark: a photograph of Miller clipping a textbook square-drive adorned the desk of the cricket-loving Australian prime minister Robert Menzies for many years. But "Nugget" Miller was more than a cricketer: along with his English soulmate Denis Compton he embodied the idea that there was more to life than cricket. Miller, who was named after two pioneer Australian pilots - Keith and Ross Smith - was a fighter pilot himself in the Second World War, and after some extremely close shaves was well aware of the importance of life. It meant that he could occasionally look disinterested on the field: at Southend in 1948, when the "Invincible" Australians were running up the record score of 721 in a day against Essex, Miller stepped away to his first ball and was bowled, since such an unequal contest held little excitement.

Number 16 Sydney Barnes

Highest Ranking 3
Total Points 497
Number of Votes Received 35/57
Rank in 1st Edition 11

Most cricketers and students of the game belonging to the period in which S.F. Barnes played were agreed that he was the bowler of the century. Australians as well as English voted him unanimously the greatest. Clem Hill, the famous Australian left-handed batsman, who in successive Test innings scored 99, 98, 97, v. A.C. MacLaren's England team of 1901-02, told me that on a perfect wicket Barnes could swing the new ball in and out "very late", could spin from the ground, pitch on the leg stump and miss the off. At Melbourne, in December 1911, Barnes in five overs overwhelmed Kelleway, Bardsley, Hill and Armstrong for a single.

And smalishah's avatar is the most classy one by far Jan certainly echoes the sentiments of CW

Yeah we don't crap in the first world; most of us would actually have no idea what that was emanating from Ajmal's backside. Why isn't it roses and rainbows like what happens here? PEWS's retort to Ganeshran on Daemon's picture depicting Ajmal's excreta

While it’s not a great surprise that the two modern era players rose in rank from last time and the three golden oldies fell, it is really surprising to me - even given the demographic - that more than half of voters don't consider Wally Hammond to be one of the 25 greatest cricketers of all time. I felt like I was under-rating him by “only” having him at number 17!

The identities of the top 15 can be pretty easily predicted IMO. But the order will be fascinating.

highest ranking 3
total points 497
number of votes received 35/57
rank in 1st edition 11

most cricketers and students of the game belonging to the period in which s.f. Barnes played were agreed that he was the bowler of the century. Australians as well as english voted him unanimously the greatest. Clem hill, the famous australian left-handed batsman, who in successive test innings scored 99, 98, 97, v. A.c. Maclaren's england team of 1901-02, told me that on a perfect wicket barnes could swing the new ball in and out "very late", could spin from the ground, pitch on the leg stump and miss the off. At melbourne, in december 1911, barnes in five overs overwhelmed kelleway, bardsley, hill and armstrong for a single.